Bible Study Notes
God of Justice – Psalm 82:1-8 and
Psalm 113:5-9
Introduction
Once
a professor of theology lamented the ignorance of modern Christians. Their disregard for the Old Testament deeply
disturbed. He saw their failure to read
and apply the teachings of prophecy as the explanation for the Church’s
acquiescence of injustice throughout the world.
Contemporary Christians emphasize God’s love in Christ at the expense of
understanding His passion for truth and justice. Simplistic, even simple-minded, appeals to
God’s love renders believers impotent to fulfill the prophetic requirements of
speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves. The poor and oppressed (children, women,
economically disadvantaged people, politically powerless persons, etc.) cannot
expect the Church to fight on their behalf, notwithstanding biblical mandates
to the contrary. Love is considered the
solution to all social, economic and political problems. The unawareness of the prophets by current
believers extracts a great price from “the least of these” in today’s world.
God
calls for justice for all persons.
Because He loves us equally, He demands that everyone be treated with
dignity and respect. The Hebrew
prophets, from Isaiah to Malachi, persistently warn the Israelites to practice
justice. Moreover, Christ says that He
did not come to destroy the Law and the Prophets but to fulfill them. Accordingly, baptized believers in His name
must pursue justice and righteousness just as Israel did. The Church cannot show the love of God to all
persons without also demanding that everyone be given their rights and
privileges as children of God.
In
today’s lesson, the psalmist describes the importance of justice to Almighty
God. It is rather significant that the
psalmist makes this appeal. His prayers
demonstrate that the struggle for justice is as central to individual worship
of God as is praise and adoration. Those
who profess to be intimately acquainted with God must comprehend God’s thirst
for justice throughout the human family.
It is the believer’s responsibility to acquire justice on God’s behalf. This is a very personal obligation in
addition to the corporate mission of the Church.
Lesson
Setting
“The
psalm is from the Asaphic hymnal. Its
context in worship was most likely the congregation assembled for worship in
the Temple in Jerusalem, and it seems reasonable to suppose, from the nature of
the psalm and its language, that its author was a cultic prophet.” [The Broadman Bible Commentary, Volume 4,
p.340; 1971]
Exposition
I. Justice for the Needy (Psalm 82:1-4)
As
the Supreme Lord of the universe, Almighty God renders the final judgment in
all matters. His rulings surpass those
of all other “gods.” Asaph contends that
God demands that the rights of the poor and needy be upheld. He exhorts Israel by asking, “How long will
you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked?” Straightforwardly, he tells the children of
Israel to defend the cause of the “weak and fatherless.”
The
church must watch herself. Lest she get
“drunk with the wine of the world,” the Church cannot allow herself to be
seduced the prevailing philosophy of the dominant society. Just as the Church resisted the
licentiousness of the Roman Empire, she must forsake the tendency of the
secular world to demonize the poor and oppressed. Admittedly, the poor will always be with
us. Yet, that is not license to ignore
them. They are God’s children even if
they are gainfully employed, tax paying citizens. Solely their salary, tax bracket or
contribution to the gross domestic product cannot determine the worth of a
person. The Church cannot fall for the
wrong belief that people have brought poverty and destitution on
themselves.
Rather,
believers have a divine mandate to rescue the weak and needy. They require deliverance from the hands of
the wicked. Interestingly, if the poor
and oppressed have need of liberation from the wicked, then they cannot be the
wicked. It appears that Asaph posits
that the upper class and the powerful are the wicked. They are those persons who place their
selfish aims above other people’s basic necessities and dignity. The wicked prioritize the purchase of
multiple homes, cars boats and other luxuries above healthcare, prescription
drugs, education, housing, food and clothing of the poor and needy. The Church will become the wicked if she
remains silent in the face of such blatant inequities and narcissism.
II. Schemes of the Wicked (Psalm 82:5-7)
With
fanciful myths and overt lies, the wicked perpetuate schemes to subvert the
will of God. Through “civil religion”
and other altruistic and patriotic ideals, the wicked justify their
selfishness. They blame the victims of
systemic poverty. Instead of financing
reasonable programs, which provide opportunities for upward social and economic
advancement, the wicked exploit the poor through subsistent wages, inadequate
education, and shrinking mobility. The
wicked tighten the vice of despair. With
the greatest arrogance, the wicked proudly and greedily dehumanize their
brothers and sisters who happen to be in need.
Thereby, the powers that be frustrate the God’s plan for the world.
In
the sixth verse, God reminds the wicked that all people are “sons of the Most
High.” Nevertheless, they remain
unimpressed. Practicing xenophobia and
pride fully stumbling in darkness, the wicked disregard the plight of their
fellows. They objectify the needy. The wicked most regrettably can only see God
in themselves. Their favor and
generosity extends only to members of the club.
“Membership ahs its privileges.”
Similarly, the Church risks imitating country clubs. In addition to fighting for the rights of all
people, churches must remember to welcome and include all persons.
Asaph
finds solace in the eventual failure of the wicked and their plans. Because God is all kind in addition to being
all-powerful, all knowing and ever present, He will not allow the poor and
oppressed to be consumed by the wicked.
Consequently, death is the final destination for the wicked; that is the
appropriate wage for sin and separation from the will of God. The downtrodden will ultimately inherit the
earth.
III. A Prayer for Justice (Psalm 82:8)
In
as much as the struggle for justice is pivotal in private worship, it is also
fundamental within the believer’s personal prayer life. The slaves, the Israelites in Egypt and
Africans in the American South, fervently prayed to God for abolition. He heard and honored those prayers as Exodus
and slave historians tell us. As a
nation and as individuals, the slaves besought God for their liberation. The crossing of the Red Sea into dry land
demonstrates God’s faithfulness toward Israel.
The providential orchestration of the American Civil War shows that He
is still not a respecter of persons.
Asaph pleads with God to judge the earth because all the nations are His
inheritance.
In
crying out to God for help, Asaph is actually seeking divine empowerment and
strength to act. Prayers for justice are
more than theoretical propositions to make the believers feel good. These petitions are personal requests for guidance,
courage and wisdom to resolve the injustices that the petitioner observes. Therefore, God answers these prayers by
removing doubt and replacing it with faith.
The believer is given the willingness and fortitude to redress the
problems on God’s behalf and with His divine sanction.
IV. The Greatness of God (Psalm 113:5-6)
With
what or whom can we compare Almighty God?
St. Anselm says that God is something greater than which anything else
can be thought. Simply stated, human
words, descriptions and characterizations cannot adequately define God. All of the innumerable volumes of theology
equal a faint attempt to depict the majesty and awesomeness of God. The brightest human minds have failed to
summarily define God. As a consequence,
the psalmist will not allow himself to engage in this fallacy. He poses the succinct and powerful,
rhetorical question, “Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned
on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth?” That is a leading question and it begs
itself. Obviously, no one and nothing
compares with God.
V. A Lasting Helper (Psalm 113:7-9)
God
is a helper to a hurting and needy people.
Most graciously and mercifully, God comes to the aid of the poor and
downtrodden. He brings His love which is
wedded to His passion for justice. God does not come with charity. He honors the poor and needy. He lifts their heads high to remind them of
their heritage as His sons and daughters. From the dust pile and ash heap, the
poor are elevated to the seats of royalty.
What is more, God blesses them with many reasons to rejoice and be
glad. The infertile woman, cursed among
her family and nation, becomes the elated mother of children. Truly, God’s amazing grace is the best
assistance for the poor and oppressed.
Lesson
Summary
Asaph
reminds us that God cares about justice as much as He loves us. These two divine characteristics cannot be
separated. In this section of the
biblical hymnbook, Asaph exhorts us to include the pursuit of justice in our
individual worship of God. Social
justice is not merely the domain of the church family. It is the concern of each believer. If we fail to incorporate this discipline
into our prayer lives and private spirituality, then we will digress to the stale
religiosity of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Their bourgeois religion was so privatized that it blinded them from
seeing the work of God through the miracles of Jesus. Moreover, they were insensitive to the human
suffering and conditions of many whom Jesus heals. The religious elite focuses on the Sabbath
and not the people. Likewise, we will
equally ignore the pain and challenges of our brothers and sisters if we
dismiss the importance of social justice ministry.
Lesson
Overview
Just
preach Jesus and everything will be all right!
That position resounds in the church today. However, it fails to grapple with the
challenge of the Law and the
Prophets. It furthermore does not
address the insightful ways in which Jesus redefines the Law and Prophets for
His disciples. Isaiah 61:1-3 details the
objective of preaching: proclaim good news to the poor; bind up the broken
hearted; release the captives; free the prisoners of darkness; comfort those
who mourn; and announce the year of the Lord’s favor. Recent theologians label this preaching and
interpretation as liberation theology.
This teaching argues that God has made a preferential decision toward
the poor and oppressed. Proponents of
this ideology cite Luke’s gospel as New Testament evidence of God’s partiality
toward the needy and socially disadvantaged.
Whereas Matthew records that three wealthy magi visit the baby Jesus to
pay homage, Luke says that the angels visited the shepherds first with the good
news of the birth of the Messiah. In
addition, Jesus quotes the previously mentioned passage in Isaiah as he starts
his public ministry, Luke 4:18. Jesus
came to shoe humankind the depth of God’s love.
However, he also entered the world to make it a more just place for all
of God’s children.
Believers
must balance the social and personal gospel.
Extremes are difficult and very problematic. The saving of our individual souls is
accountable to ushering in the reign of God.
It is a Christian imperative to engage the struggle for justice. A deeply personal religion inadvertently
affirms the social order, particularly its injustice. In fulfilling the Law and Prophets, Jesus
calls us to a relationship that frees us to risk our lives for truth and
justice. In doing so, we demonstrate the
God’s love for humankind.
The
Main Thought Explained
Indeed,
the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof; the world and all who dwell
therein. Since the whole earth belongs
to God, His will should be done here as it is in heaven. Asaph on behalf of the poor and oppressed
implores God to accomplish His purposes for all His people.
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